Council III

The Constitution and Bylaws Committee brought forward some changes in the bylaws that were all passed. Included in the changes was the acceptance of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries and the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services as affiliates. The Intellectual Freedom Committee reported on the changes proposed to the newest edition of the IFC Manual. IFC submitted six revised policies including, "Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation," "Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program," "Diversity in Collection Development," "Evaluating Library Collections," "Expurgation of Library Materials," "Free Access to Libraries for Minors." The International Relations Commitee made their report to Council and brought forth a resolution entitled, "Iraq Replacement Resolution," which passed. This is a replacement resolution for the one passed during Midwinter 2008 due to some inaccuracies in some of the whereas clauses. The Committee on Organization brought forth a revision in the composition of the committee, which was passed. The Committee on Legislation reported that they wanted representation from all the divisions and roundtables on the Legislative Assembly. Three resolutions were brought forward: A Resolution in Support of the National Agricultural Library, which was passed; a Resolution on the E-Governnment Reauthorization Act of 2007 (S. 2321) which urges Congress to re-emphasize it's commitment to support the role of libraries in the delivery of E-Government services; Resolution in Support of Preservation and Access to the Audio Heritage of the United States which resolves that ALA urge Members of the US Congress to charge the US Copyright Office to conduct a study on the desirability of bringing sound recordings before 2/15/72 under federal jurisdiction. All passed. A Resolution Adopting the Definitions of Digital Preservation and the Revised Preservation Policy for the ALA, which passed. Lastly, a Resolution on Expanding Council Transparency was brought forth. This Resolution asked for the Executive Director of ALA to explore methods of making Council proceedings more transparent to the ALA membership and report back to Council during midwinter. This also passed. The photo is of Jennifer Kutzik and me at a Council meeting. Jennifer is the LSSIRT (Library Support Staff Interests Roundtable) representative to Council and a long-time employee at CSU.

ALA Council I

Council I included the following business:
(1) Midwinter Minutes approved (available on the ALA website.)
(2) Nominations for the Committee on Commitees and the 2008-09 Planning and Budget Assembly.
(3) Report from the Resolutions Committee.
(4) Report from ALA Executive Director including the Implementatin Report of the 2008 ALA Midwinter Meeting Council Actions
(5)The ALA Treasurer's Report.

ALA Annual Conference Council 2

In Council 2 a number of motions for change in the ALA Policy Manual were presented and passed. The FY 09 budgetary ceiling was approved. A Resolution to support funding for cataloging and bibliographic control at the Library of Congress was presented and a motion was made to refer this to the Committee on Legislation, which was defeated. Opinions were strong in favor of making this forward in an expedient manner and not deferring. In the end, this resolution passed. The next Resolution introduced concerned ALA Policy Opposing Sweatshop Labor. Councilors questioned the definition of sweatshop and also whether or not this would be applied to the vendors at conferences. This resolution was passed.

Emerging Leaders Program Application Process

2009 Emerging Leaders Application Process Now Open The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting applications for the 2009 class of Emerging Leaders. Applications can be found at http://cs.ala.org/hrdr/emergingleaders/
The deadline to apply is July 31.
The program is designed to enable more than 100 new librarians to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership. Participants are given the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, network with peers and get an inside look into ALA structure and activities.
An ALA division, round table, ethnic affiliate, state chapter or AASL Affiliate will sponsor approximately one-third of the selected applicants. Each sponsor will contribute $1000 towards expenses ($500 for each conference). To be sponsored, apply directly to your division, chapter or round table on the application. A list of sponsoring units is included as part of the online application. You can also check with your state association and/or state chapter to find out how to apply for their sponsorship.
Sponsorship is not required for participation in the program. In order to be eligible for participation in the program, those selected must meet the following criteria:

Be under 35 years of age or be a new librarian of any age with fewer than 5 years post-MLS experience, and Have a recent MLS degree from an ALA or NCATE accredited program or be in an MLS program currently, and Be able to attend both ALA conferences and work virtually in between each, Be prepared to commit to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee, taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program, and Be an ALA member or join upon selection if not already a member.
Program information will be available and updated at: wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders. For questions or more information regarding the program, contact Beatrice Calvin at bcalvin@ala.org.

National Library Legislative Day

A team of 11 Coloradoans visited the capital to lobby for libraries on May 13-14 for National Library Legislative Day. We were able to meet with representatives from the offices of all our legislators and personally with both Senator Ken Salazar and Representative John Salazar. Pictured here from left to right are Camila Alire, incoming ALA President, Carolyn Coulter and Dee Vazquez from Pikes Peak Library District, Stevan Strain (Board member) and Rochelle Logan from Douglas County Libraries, Senator Ken Salazar, Gene Hainer, Colorado State Library Director, Shelley Walchak, Colorado Chapter Councilor, Jody Howard, incoming CAL President, John Wilkinson, City of Aspen Mayor and Library Board member, Elena Rosenfeld, High Plains Library District, and Paul Mascarenas, Adams State College. (Nancy Bolt is missing from this photo.) Please contact me if you have any interest in getting involved in lobbying for libraries in your districts.

swalchak@clicweb.org

ALA 2009 Nominating Committee seeks candidates for 2009 election

The American Library Association (ALA) 2009 Nominating Committee is soliciting nominees to run on the 2009 spring ballot for the offices of ALA President-elect and Councilor-at-large.
The Nominating Committee will select two candidates to run for President-elect and no fewer than 50 candidates for the 33 at-large Council seats to be filled in the 2009 spring election.
The President-elect will serve a three-year term: as President-elect in 2009-2010, as President in 2010-2011 and as Immediate Past President in 2011-2012.
The Councilors-at-large will serve three-year terms, beginning after the 2009 ALA Annual Conference and ending at the adjournment of the 2012 Annual Conference.
The ALA President and Councilors also serve in corresponding roles in the ALA-Allied Professional Association [ALA-APA]. Individuals considering ALA-APA office are encouraged to consult with their employer regarding any restrictions regarding lobbying activities or service on the governing body of a 501(c)6 organization.
ALA members who wish to make nominations should submit the following information: nominee name; present position; institution; address; telephone; fax; and e-mail address. All potential nominees must complete the Potential Candidate Biographical Form available at https://cs.ala.org/potentialcandidates . The database will be available June 2, 2008. Nominations and forms must be received no later than Sept. 1, 2008. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Nominations also may be sent to any member of the 2009 Nominating Committee. Committee members are: Susan S. DiMattia, chair, consultant, DiMattia Associates, Stamford, Conn., sdimattia@optonline.net; Rose T. Dawson, acting director, Alexandria (Va.) Library, rdawson@alexandria.lib.va.us; Timothy P. Grimes, manager, Community Relations and Marketing, Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library, grimest@aadl.org; Susan Hildreth, state librarian, California State Library, Sacramento, Calif., shhildreth@comcast.net; Corinne M. Hill, collection development manager, Denton (Texas) Public Library; cmhill@cityofdenton.com; Pamela Spencer Holley, writer, consultant, Hallwood, Va., pamsholley@aol.com; Jo Ellen Priest Misakian, interim dean/School of Education, Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Cailf., jmisakian@fresno.edu; Daniel O. O'Connor, professor, Rutgers University School of Communication Information & Library Studies, New Brunswick, N.J.; oconnor@scils.rutgers.edu ; and Thomas C. Wilson, associate dean, Library Technology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, tcwilson@ua.edu.

Help Create a Cultural Communities Fund

ALA is currently in the final stages of raising funds for a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant would be used by the ALA Public Programs Office (PPO) to create the Cultural Communities Fund, which would be the nation's first and only endowment to support libraries in establishing and expanding cultural programs. This would allow the PPO to have a dependable source of support for their initiatives. In the past 5 years, the PPO has provided more than $6 million in direct support to libraries across the country, including libraries in Colorado Springs (Regis University), Littleton (Chatfield HS), and Mancos (Mancos Public Library). As a state, we have already benefitted from their work, and now is our chance to secure this support for the future.

According to the terms of the NEH grant, ALA must meet a goal of $1.4 million in pledges and contributions by July 31st, 2008. They have already raised over $1 million, but need an additional $310,000 to make the goal. On behalf of ALA, I'm asking you to make a donation or pledge today. Pledges may be paid through December 31st, 2008, so if your wallet's light right now, you can still support this worthy cause by signing up now and paying later. You could even consider donating your stimulus check -- what better way to use this windfall than to support libraries! For every three dollars raised by ALA, the NEH will contribute another dollar, so we can maximize our dollars if we meet this deadline.

Unlike other pledge drives, ALA can't give you a coffee mug, and librarians already have enough tote bags (I have 12 in my office alone). However, with your support, ALA's Cultural Community Fund will be giving back to libraries for years to come. To read more about this initiative, and to pledge online, please visit http://www.ala.org/ccf.